The Official Blind Guardian Thread v. Yup, Still a Necrothread

[wolfking]

Damn. Is it that bad? Compared to, say, their previous one, At the Edge of Time.

Yes.  I normally am not that fussed with production, but this ruins the album.  That description in the review above is correct.  It's weak, muffled, no bottom end, no crunch at all, and yeah, it does sound like there were pillows over the mics.  It's horrid.

[wolfking]

Listening to it again today with fresh ears, it's still horrid, but not as bad as I initially thought.  It just lacks so much punch and power, and the distortion sounds so flat on the guitars.  The material sounds pretty good, but I think will be a hard album to really get into.

[gazinwales]

I was fearing the worst before I got my CD.
My system is pretty decent and I have the Japanese CD and to my ears it sounds pretty good.

[ariich]

On further listen, yeah the sound isn't great, but it's not terrible. It's a bit too dense, basically, which causes it to become quite muffled. Maybe they were going for, I don't know, but I put on ATEOT afterwards and it sounds so open in comparison, which I certainly prefer.

[wolfking]

Finding it very hard to get into this album.  Not really digging it at all.

[ErHaO]

It took some listenings to get used to it and it sounds dreadful on my laptop. It is fine on my phone (Xperia Z3 sounds really good, actually, much better than the Iphone/Samsung Galaxies I owned and most computers imo) and stereo (not amazing, but sufficient quality). Also listened to it on my dads installation, which is a high end Naim system with appropriate speakers and sub (he's a big audiophile). Many details can be distinquished quite well in the right listening enviroment.

I vastly prefer this to ANATO and ATITM, as the orchestrations and vocals sound much better here (way more natural, which is because they are in fact more natural, offcourse). And the guitars often have more presence than those albums as well (especially in ANATO Marcus is often buried deeply). Andre sounds great too, I think. He has a very clear presence on this album, moreso than most of ATEOT. ATEOT is more clear and better end the end, however.

All in all I really do not think the production of Beyond the Red Mirror is that bad, but it is not an album for easy listening . This is partially due to the nature of the music, there is not a lot of breathing space and there are always several layers of music (which makes this quite the grower as well). I doubt it is the best they could have done, though.

[wolfking]

There's no way this comes close to ANATO.  That could be my fav BG too as others have mentioned.

[ErHaO]

For me, this is by far better than ANATO. But I rank that album pretty low overall, aside from it having some of their best songs.

[Zook]

Finding it very hard to get into this album.  Not really digging it at all.

Yep.

[wolfking]

Finding it very hard to get into this album.  Not really digging it at all.

Yep.

I don't even see myself trying it again.  I wished I listened to this first, I probably wouldn't have paid for it.  BG are one of my instant purchase bands, but this is a shame.

[Zook]

People saying this album is better that ATEOT is baffling. The only song that's halfway decent is The Ninth Wave. The rest are ramblefests with no good hooks or melodies, and the songs just sound like typical Blind Guardian cliches, which normally aren't bad. I like The BG sound, but there is nothing interesting on this album.

Not to mention the production is awful.

[wolfking]

People saying this album is better that ATEOT is baffling. The only song that's halfway decent is The Ninth Wave. The rest are ramblefests with no good hooks or melodies, and the songs just sound like typical Blind Guardian cliches, which normally aren't bad. I like The BG sound, but there is nothing interesting on this album.

Not to mention the production is awful.

Yeah, I'd easily take ATEOT also.  I pretty would have to agree with everything here.  I think for me, if the production was top notch it would be better and I would be able to give it a good go.  As I'm listening to it, I'm just thinking about what else I can put on instead.

[ErHaO]

I have to disagree with no hooks. I can nearly hum all songs along from the top of my head by now and adore most solos and orchestrations. The album is more melodic than the previous one. I find it strange that people do not find any hooks in this, for me it is one after the other. And as far as BG cliches go, ATEOT's songwriting was way more familiar territory (fans consider it the refined "safe" album). Aside from typical elements, most of the songs sound nothing like previous work at all as a whole (Prophecies, the Throne, Holy Grail and Doom are the most familiar tunes I'd say). Even most choruses stray from their usual stuff, which is something they are often criticized for post-Nightfall (Twilight of the Gods would be a clear german metal cliche chorus example). And Hansi sings in ways he has not done before (namely ATEOT the song, Miracle Machine and Sacred Mind).

When it does not click, it does not click. I get that. But I kind of take offense in calling other peoples enjoyment baffling to be honest. It is not even a minority opinion (which I admit frequently have), the consensus amongst the fans is great so far too, see rock hard forums, metalfan, neogaf, reddit, official BG, yt etc. A lot of people do say it is not an easy pill to swallow, however.

Almost everyone agree the production is bad though. And most think the single Twilight of the Gods sucks balls and is made of several songs hussled together. Ashes of Eternity seems to be the most divisive song, with people either loving it or hating it.

I do hope they refrain from doing many songs live though. I did not really like it either when they did Wheel of Time, some of this new stuff will not work at all imo.

[wolfking]

I don't care that people like it, good for them, I'm glad it's getting good reviews, but I agree with Zook and I'm not criticizing anyone for liking it, so I'm not sure where you are coming from there.

[Skeever]

This is easily their worst album 

[Evermind]

I do hope they refrain from doing many songs live though. I did not really like it either when they did Wheel of Time, some of this new stuff will not work at all imo.

Hey now, Wheel of Time was the highlight of previous tour for me. Sacred Worlds, however, this one I didn't like much live.

[gazinwales]

Australian Tour June 2105, well 2 shows only;
June 19 Melbourne
June 20 Sydney

[ErHaO]

A thing I do not like is that the story, to me, is incomprehensible at points. Hansi said he wants to keep interpretations open. Well, I guess he succeeded in that  But I prefer stories to be a bit more clear than this.

I don't care that people like it, good for them, I'm glad it's getting good reviews, but I agree with Zook and I'm not criticizing anyone for liking it, so I'm not sure where you are coming from there.

Was a reaction to Zook. But maybe it is my English/cultural interpretation that fails me a bit on this, but it came off like I was insane for liking these ramblefests or something like that  So do not mind the second paragraph.

The rest of my post is a description of why I disagree with his cliche notion. There are many aspects of this album that are quite distinct from their previous work. I love ATEOT and can see why people prefer that though (and I do not know how this one fares on the longterm, offcourse. Maybe in the long run ATEOT will win for me as well).

I do hope they refrain from doing many songs live though. I did not really like it either when they did Wheel of Time, some of this new stuff will not work at all imo.

Hey now, Wheel of Time was the highlight of previous tour for me. Sacred Worlds, however, this one I didn't like much live.

Well, as I live in the Netherlands, we always get debut shows. This is cool in one way, but the performance I saw was not really too convincing in comparison with songs they have the routine with (BG is a band that keeps adjusting their set and perfomance to finetune during touring). It was a nice change of pace though and I did not mind it, but I just hope they do not do a lot of these songs on a single show.

I might also add I did not really know the song that well then and I was hoping for AttWS 

[Evermind]

We got both ATTWS and WoT, haha. I guess knowing the song would've helped. My friend went to the show and haven't heard the new album at all, but he really liked WoT, I guess the whole fun was screaming "Wheel of Time!" at the right moments.

That's how I went to Ensiferum concert with him, by the way. He's a big fan, and I haven't heard a single song from them before the gig, so he was just telling what to sing along in the chorus in those fan-friendly songs. Turned out alright, I enjoyed it a lot.

[wolfking]

Australian Tour June 2105, well 2 shows only;
June 19 Melbourne
June 20 Sydney

What a fucking surprise.

I don't care that people like it, good for them, I'm glad it's getting good reviews, but I agree with Zook and I'm not criticizing anyone for liking it, so I'm not sure where you are coming from there.

Was a reaction to Zook. But maybe it is my English/cultural interpretation that fails me a bit on this, but it came off like I was insane for liking these ramblefests or something like that  So do not mind the second paragraph.

That's cool man, I'm glad you like it. 

This is easily their worst album 

I'm kinda thinking this too.

[cramx3]

Im actually not the biggest WoT fan, but I really enjoyed it live.  I just got the album but havent given a listen yet.  I feel like its going to be a challenge from reading all of this.  If they tour the US, I would definitely like to see them.

[Ultimetalhead]

This is easily their worst album 

In a world where A Twist in the Myth exists?

[wolfking]

This is easily their worst album 

In a world where A Twist in the Myth exists?

It's possible.

[cramx3]

Listened to the album twice back to back while I was working yesterday so I wasnt totally paying attention, but I found it fairly enjoyable to listen to.  Definitely not as bad as some on here sugest IMO.  I also didnt think they production was as terrible as expected.  Maybe my expectations were just low, but I can't say anything bad at the moment.  I also use Bose headphones when Im at work so maybe that helps witht he production sound?  Not sure, im not an audiophile.

[Evermind]

My earbook has arrived (just in time, ha), and it's damn huge, seriously. I love the design. Let's see if I will like the album itself, will spin it this evening.

[cramx3]

Given at least 5 listens now.  I enjoy this album.  Its a grower for sure, but definitely not bad or weak IMO.  However, after these listens there isn't anything that sticks out as amazing or that tops previous BG songs in general.  I really do enjoy Miracle Machine, Hansi just sounds amazing on this ballad.  Also, the guitars are really amazing on this album (aren't they always?) but it seems like there is a lot more going on with them on this album.

[Evermind]

Did my first listen of the album. Well, the mix baffled me a bit at first, but then I kind of grew accustomed to it and the second CD was very enjoyable I think. The music is dense indeed and I can't say I remember a lot (especially from CD 1), but I definitely like this enough to keep spinning it.

[cramx3]

Yea, I don't really have a big problem with the mix. I dont htink its great or anything, but I dont think it is bad either.  It actually sounds fairly good on my headphones.

[Evermind]

Alright, I've given it six or seven spins and I'm not impressed. Mix is alright and doesn't really bother me, but the songs just aren't that strong. I guess my main problem with this album is lack of good choruses. I like how the most verses and the instrumentation goes, but when it comes to chorus, some songs become just awkward and not really enjoyable for me. Also, I find it funny how two bonus track are better than half of the album's material.

And as we're on DTF, ranking time!

Incredible / great stuff:

The Throne (without a doubt, my favourite song from the album)
The Holy Grail

Good stuff:

Distant Memories
Doom

Average stuff:

Twilight of the Gods
Prophecies

The rest of the album so far is quite meh for me. The Ninth Wave starts off magnificently up until 2:47 ("We will survive"), then it's kind of good until the chorus kicks in, where I just want to turn it off. I don't really remember a lot about At the Edge of Time and Ashes of Eternity, and after this amount of listens it's quite weird. Sacred Mind is fine except this chorus that just kills the song for me, those "my Xanadu" lines are nearly unlistenable for me. I expected more from Miracle Machine, maybe that's because it really falls flat when I spin the album, and The Grand Parade is probably the better one out of those, but still not very exciting.

The longest songs are my greatest disappointment with this album so far. I expected them to be great, like on their previous work, but they just aren't, in my opinion. Maybe they need more listens to grow, but I already hate The Ninth Wave chorus more than I did after my first spin, so I doubt this will change.

The Throne is pure awesomeness though.

[cramx3]

I agree about the chorus's, while I have enjoyed the album.  After all the listens I cant pick out that one song that I need to keep coming back to.  It just doesn't exist on this album, there is nothing that is compelling and must listen.  I enjoy the album and will continue to listen, but its not going to crack my top albums by them.

[Evermind]

After all the listens I cant pick out that one song that I need to keep coming back to.  It just doesn't exist on this album, there is nothing that is compelling and must listen.

After another four spins (making it eleven total) I'm pretty sure that's The Throne for me. As of now, it cracks the Top 10 BG songs for me. Maybe it's that new car smell effect, but I just can't get enough of it, totally awesome, and the rest of the album doesn't even come close to it.

[wolfking]

I couldn't be assed giving this album another chance, disappointing.

[Randaran]

I have had this album since the week of its release, and have only listened to it a few times. The production is the largest turn-off, as listening to the record is more tiring than it should be. Luckily, the songs are pretty good, but I find it hard to motivate myself to listen.

[wolfking]

I have had this album since the week of its release, and have only listened to it a few times. The production is the largest turn-off, as listening to the record is more tiring than it should be. Luckily, the songs are pretty good, but I find it hard to motivate myself to listen.

Absolutely.

[Skeever]

I couldn't be assed giving this album another chance, disappointing.

Couldn't be assed to get through the entire thing, let alone doing it more than once. Hate hearing that from myself since I'm a huge BG fan.